{"id":56813,"date":"2025-05-23T09:41:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T16:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=56813"},"modified":"2025-12-18T12:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T20:40:07","slug":"an-open-letter-to-our-colleagues-leaders-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/an-open-letter-to-our-colleagues-leaders-community\/","title":{"rendered":"An Open Letter to Our Colleagues, Leaders &amp; Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>An Open Letter to Our Colleagues, Leaders &amp; Community<\/h1>\t\t<time>May 23, 2025<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_67f516f9de014877b96fd3b751316147\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>As I wrap up my first week as CEO of Samaritan Health Services, I want to take a moment to speak directly and plainly. There\u2019s been a lot of talk this week \u2014 some of it based on incomplete information. So let me be clear about what\u2019s happening, why it matters and how we\u2019re moving forward.<br><br>Health care in Oregon is in a tough spot. According to the Hospital Association of Oregon, half the health systems in our state are operating at a loss. That\u2019s not sustainable. Reimbursement from government payers is shrinking, even as more people rely on those programs. At the same time, the health challenges our patients face are more complex than ever.<br><br>Costs are rising \u2014 driven by inflation, staffing shortages and new regulations. It\u2019s a simple but brutal equation: expenses are up, and revenue is down.<br><br>All across our industry, we\u2019re being asked to do more with less \u2014 see more patients, provide more services, stretch farther. And while those of us in health care will always do our best to serve, no system or caregiver can keep stretching indefinitely without strain.<br><br>Samaritan is not immune. We\u2019ve stepped up time and again to meet growing needs \u2014 expanding access, adding services, recruiting specialists and stepping in when other community providers have needed support. And we\u2019ve been open about the financial pressure we\u2019re under.<br><br>But what hasn\u2019t changed is why we\u2019re here: to serve. As a nonprofit rooted in this region for more than a century, our mission is simple and unwavering: Building healthier communities together.<br><br>That work continues \u2014 and in many ways, it\u2019s just beginning. Across our system, teams of clinicians and leaders are asking hard questions and thinking boldly about what a strong, sustainable Samaritan should look like in the future. This isn\u2019t about quick fixes or sudden changes. No decisions have been made, and no changes to services are being implemented. In addition, no timeframe has been set to develop a plan or implement changes. The ideas we\u2019re exploring still need to be tested, shared, improved and aligned with what our community needs \u2014 not just this summer, but for the long term.<br><br>This is a pivotal moment. Health care is changing. If we want Samaritan to be here for the next 100 years, we must adapt. And we can\u2019t do that alone.<br><br><strong>To our legislators:<\/strong> We need your partnership to ensure fair reimbursement and investment in the systems that keep our communities healthy.<br><br><strong>To the media:<\/strong> Help us tell the full and accurate story of what health care in Oregon is really facing.<br><br><strong>To our community:<\/strong> Stand with us. Your support allows us to keep showing up when you need us most.<br><br><strong>And to our employees:<\/strong> You are the heart of Samaritan. We are committed to supporting you, so you can keep doing the work you were called to do.<br><br>Building healthier communities is not a slogan \u2014 it\u2019s a shared responsibility. Let\u2019s move forward together.<br><br>With appreciation,<br>Marty Cahill<br>President &amp; CEO <br>Samaritan Health Services<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Cahill-Marty-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"Marty Cahill is the CEO of Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Cahill-Marty-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Cahill-Marty-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Cahill-Marty-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marty Cahill, President &amp; CEO of Samaritan Health Services, discusses the state of health care following his first week as CEO. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":11648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[491],"news-types":[272],"services":[],"specialty":[],"class_list":["post-56813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-topics-about","news-types-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56813"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=56813"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=56813"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=56813"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=56813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}